Family Fire Pit

BUILDING THE LID

Traditionally, the lid is simply a large piece of metal that is placed over
the opening of the pit after the meat is lowered down into the hole. Then dirt
is thrown on top of the lid until the entire surface is covered and there is no
air that is allowed to escape.

Had I placed the pipe into the ground upside down from the way I did it then
this would have worked well. However, with the design I have used, in order to
do it this way I would have had to have a larger piece of metal to cover the opening.

My idea was to have the metal custom cut so that it would just fit inside the
outer lip of the pipe. In this way when I am not cooking meat in the pit I can use
it as a regular fire pit ring. Dirt could be placed on top of the lid providing an
excellent place to build a regular fire.

The only concern that I had was that when there was not a fire blazing and no one
was watching, the kids might run or jump on the lid and perhaps the lid would not be
strong enough to hold their weight. The solution was to have a couple of heavy angle
iron cut and I bolted the angle iron to the underside of the lid. This provided a sturdy
lid that was able to hold the weight that would be placed on it.